Campaign to ease abortion law

A campaign launched today calls on the government to reform Britain's 40-year-old abortion law to let women have a termination without needing the consent of two doctors.

Pro-choice campaigners Abortion Rights say current restrictions, which impose more obstacles to abortion than in most European countries, should be lifted to create abortion on request.

They also warn that a postcode lottery on abortion means that women can be forced to wait for three weeks or even longer after deciding to have a termination. A poll commissioned by Abortion Rights and the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust found 77% of 1,000 people questioned supported a woman's right to choose an abortion in the first three months of pregnancy, while 72% said it was not acceptable for a woman who had been referred for an abortion to have to wait beyond three weeks.

The campaign launch comes ahead of the 40th anniversary in October of the 1967 Abortion Act. Lord Steel, the Liberal Democrat peer and architect of the legislation, backed the campaign. He said: "As this survey shows, the delay in securing abortions is unacceptable."